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FIRE SERVICE AND GENERAL FIRE SAFETY TOPICS => Technical Advice => Topic started by: lyledunn on August 20, 2017, 09:27:57 AM
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I have a very simple single storey detached building used as a social club. Circa 120 in what is effectively a church-hall-like structure. Two exits, one at the front and one to the rear discharge directly to the open air. The one to the rear routes people along the side of the building and then discharges them some 4m away from the front exit. The building is fenced right round except at the front where there is a hip-high brick wall. I cannot conceive of a "normal" fire situation that would cause concern. However, the club does have a contentious nature and a deliberate fire cannot be ruled out. I am a bit uneasy as I always like that feeling of being able to move in the opposite direction.
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I have a very simple single storey detached building used as a social club. Circa 120 in what is effectively a church-hall-like structure. Two exits, one at the front and one to the rear discharge directly to the open air. The one to the rear routes people along the side of the building and then discharges them some 4m away from the front exit. The building is fenced right round except at the front where there is a hip-high brick wall. I cannot conceive of a "normal" fire situation that would cause concern. However, the club does have a contentious nature and a deliberate fire cannot be ruled out. I am a bit uneasy as I always like that feeling of being able to move in the opposite direction.
Can the side passage be gated with a push bar at the front to prevent an attack at the exit at the back? What monitoring is there of the back exit, side passage and front of the building while events are in progress to prevent obstructions and/or arson? A door steward, CCTV, PIR detectors?
Even consider concealed external sprinklers.
What is the external wall construction as that can be an issue?
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Where would the deliberate fire be set Lyle? Entrance foyer?
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Molotov cocktail lobbed in through the windows?
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Yes an attack at the front of some kind. I am currently dealing with the aftermath of two situations in clubs. One where a disgruntled drunk when refused admission came back sometime later and lobbed a petrol bomb into the lobby. Another where a guy drove his car straight through the double exit doors at the side of a club because his bird was inside with another lad. No one injured in either case but you do have to be imaginative when dealing with social clubs!
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Is there a place of relative safety at the rear? Are there any windows or other openings along the passage way to the front?
Sounds like a fascinating place to conduct a FRA.
When it goes really wrong - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Happy_Land_fire / http://fire.nist.gov/bfrlpubs/fire92/PDF/f92041.pdf
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No one injured in either case but you do have to be imaginative when dealing with social clubs!
Dont go drinking there Lyle then.